Just a note...these posts are generally written on the train with great lack of sleep! Please excuse any grammatical errors!

Day Three: January 2, 2009

I arrived at my hotel last night – Hotel Pension Adlerhof. I highly recommend it if anyone decides to travel to Salzburg! Located just three blocks from the train station and about a ten-minute walk from the city center, the location is quite convenient. The price was also quite nice – just 58 euros per night for a single. By the time I arrived, I was exhausted and hungry…the only place that I saw open to eat was McDonalds. Seriously, I didn’t travel all this way to eat American fast food!!! Unfortunately, that was what I ended up with. I took it back to my room and ate it while watching Law and Order SVU in German. Let me tell you, that is NOT how Elliot sounds! I am also apparently destined to have difficultly calling home. Apparently the manager, who wasn’t on location last night, had to authorize my phone in order for me to make calls…so, Mom got yet another two-minute phone call from me while I stood at the front desk.

Sleeping was a bit difficult, surprisingly. How can a person be so tired and yet not sleep? The accommodation was quite comfortable, but I think that my body was still adjusting to the time difference.

This morning I woke up and had a quick breakfast at the hotel – corn flakes and a hard-boiled egg. Eggs, I have noticed, are quite popular in Austria. Following breakfast, I was picked up at the hotel by the tour guide for my Sound of Music tour. Now, I’m not obsessed with the film…I wasn’t even aware that were people who really were, but let me tell you…there are some people who consider it on par with their religion. As far as movies go, I’d agree that it is one of the best ever made…I actually learned today that the director of this film was also the director of another favorite of mine – West Side Story. I probably should have put that together before, but honestly, who really pays attention to the director?
We visited and/or passed by several of the major filming sites including:

Leopold’s Crown Palace (the grounds were used as the outside of the Von Trapp villa)

The Glass Gazebo (where Rolf and Liesl sang “Sixteen Going on Seventeen”)

Frohnburg Castle (used as the front of the Von Trapp villa)

The Wedding Church in Mondsee

The Mountain and Lake District

The whole tour was quite beautiful. My main reason for taking it was so that I could get out of the city into the Mountain and Lake District, and let me say, it was well worth it. I also experienced one of the “favorite things” – warm apple strudel…and I’d have to admit that it could easily become a favorite of mine!

Following the tour, I decided to take a walk around the city…not the wisest choice given I wasn’t dressed to be outside for hours, but in retrospect (now that I am once again warm), it was well worth it.

Monks, who chose the city because of its incredible beauty, founded Salzburg and, up until 1816, it was an independent city-state ruled by prince-archbishops. Salzburg is also the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and the musical heritage of the city is predominant throughout. The Salzburg Festival, depicted in The Sound of Music is the city’s world famous recognition of this heritage.

My original intention of walking after the tour was so that I could get a good picture of Hohensalzburg Fortress, one of the best-preserved fortresses in Europe that was founded in 1077 by Archbishop Gebhart I. However, I was easily distracted by the Altstadt (Old Town), a lovely example of Baroque town planning – with an ensemble of fountains, squares and public buildings centered on the cathedral. Some of the highlights of what I saw are:

Hohensalzburg Fortress

The Cathedral, consecrated in 1628

St. Peter’s Abbey and Cemetery, founded around 700

Residence Square

Franciscan Church, very interesting, with several European building styles merged in a harmonic unity

Collegiate Church

Mozart’s Birthplace

Words cannot describe the splendor of this little city. The religious buildings, cemeteries, the general architecture, the arches, cobblestone streets, fountains…stunning. I’ll have to post some pictures, but somehow I think that they will not even be capable of capturing the beauty.

I wandered a bit through the city before heading back to my hotel…then wandered a bit more than necessary due to my horrible sense of direction. Officially frozen by the time I arrived, I crawled under the covers and decided that then was a great time to call home. Finally more than a two second conversation!

After talking to Mom, I began to ready myself for dinner – determined that I would experience some true Austrian food. Armed with a recommendation from the hotel, I headed out. Disappointment came quickly – the recommended restaurant was closed! However, next door was a non-American restaurant. Turkish food anyone? Ok…so it wasn’t Austrian, but at least it wasn’t American fast food. I decided to try it and it certainly did provide an experience. No one in the restaurant spoke English…and the menu was in Arabic and German. With no other choice, I somehow managed to ask for whatever they recommended. I ended up with Kiymali…Turkish pizza that had some kind of meat, peppers, and spices on top. Although I still don’t know exactly what it was, it was delicious. Despite neither of us speaking the same language, the man who owned the restaurant with his family (his mama was the chef) was determined that he would sit with me and attempt to hold a conversation. Somehow, we actually managed and it was quite enjoyable. Following dinner, he brought be baklava (something I recognized!) and chai tea (for which he did not allow me to pay) and we continued our “conversation.” Two hours after arriving for a “quick” dinner I returned to my hotel – armed with extra baklava from “mama” and disappointed that tomorrow I will be leaving and therefore unable to return.

I talked to Ashley briefly on IM after arriving back at my hotel and she relayed to me that everyone is anxious for pictures! I worked to upload them tonight, but for some reason it wasn’t working properly…I’ll try to get them up as quickly as possible.
Tomorrow is my trip to Vienna. I’m planning on catching the train in the morning and touring the city for the day. I’m sure there is more to see than I will be able, but this way, I’ll get a taste and hopefully be able to come back someday to explore it more in depth!